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02 - Dueling Machine by Ben Bova · Dueling Machine

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Part two of The Dueling Machine by Ben Bova and
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Myron R. Lewis. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Reading by Greg Marguerite. Part two of The Dueling Machine
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: by Ben Bova and Myron R. Lewis, Chapter six. The
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: space station orbiting around Aquitania, the capital planet of the
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Aquitane Cluster, served simultaneously as a transfer point from starships
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  Speaker 1: to planet ships, a tourist resort of meteorological station, communications center,
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  Speaker 1: scientific laboratory, astronomical observatory, medical haven for allergy and cardiac patients,
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: and military base. It was, in reality a good sized city,
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  Speaker 1: with its own markets, its own local government, and its
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: own way of life. Doctor Leo had just stepped off
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: the debarking ramp of the starship from Zarno. The trip
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: there had been pointless and fruitless, but he had gone
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: anyway in the slim hope that he might find something
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: wrong with the dueling machine that had been used to
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: murder a man. A shutter went through him as he
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: edged along the automated custom scanners and paper checkers. What
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: kind of people could these men of Kiak be to
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: actually kill a human being in called blood to plot
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: and plan the death of a fellow man worse than
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: barbaric savage. He felt tired as he left Customs and
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: took the slideway to the planetary shuttle ships. Half Way there,
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: he decided to check at the communications desk for messages.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: That star Watch officer that Sir Harold had promised him
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: a week ago should have arrived by now. The communications
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: desk consisted of a small booth that contained the output
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: printer of a communications computer and an attractive, young, dark
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: haired girl. Automation or not, Leo thought, smilingly, there were
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: certain human values that transcended mere efficiency. A lanky, thin
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: faced youth was half leaning on the booth's counter trying
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  Speaker 1: to talk to the girl. He had curly blonde hair
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: and crystal blue eyes. His clothes consisted of an ill
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: fitting pair of slacks and tunic. A small traveler's kit
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: rested on the floor at his feet. So I was
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: sort of well thinking maybe somebody might show me around
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: the little he was stammering to the girl. I've never
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: been here. It's the most beautiful planet in the galaxy.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: The girl was saying, it's cities are the finest. Yes, well,
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: I was sort of thinking that is. I know we
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: just met a few minutes ago, but well, maybe if
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: you have a free day or so coming up, maybe
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: we could sort of, She smiled coolly. I have two
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: days off at the end of the week, but I'll
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: be staying here at this station. There's so much to
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: see and do here. I very seldom leave. Oh, you're
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: making a mistake, Leo interjected dogmatically. If you have such
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: a beautiful planet for your home world, why in the
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: name of the gods of the intellect don't you go
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: down there and enjoy it. I'll wager you haven't been
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: out in the natural beauty and fine cities you spoke
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: of since you started working here on the station. Why
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: you're right, she said, surprised. You see, you youngsters are
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: all alike. You never think further than the ends of
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: your noses. You should return to the planet, young lady,
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  Speaker 1: and see the sunshine again. Why don't you visit the
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: university at the capital city. Plenty of open space and greenery,
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: lots of sunshine and available young men. Leo was grinning broadly,
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: and the girl smiled back at him. Perhaps I will,
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: she said, ask for me when you get to the university.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: I'm doctor Leo. I'll see to it that you are
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: introduced to some of the girls and gentlemen of your
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: own age. Why, thank you, doctor, I'll do it this weekend.
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: Good now, then, any messages for me? Any one aboard
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: the station looking for me? The girl turned and tapped
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  Speaker 1: a few keys on the computer's console. A row of
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: lights flicked briefly across the console's face. She turned back
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: to Leo. No, sir, I'm sorry, no message and no
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  Speaker 1: one has asked for you. Hum, that's strange. Well, thank you,
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: and I'll expect to see you at the end of
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: this week. The girl smiled a farewell. Leo started to
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  Speaker 1: walk away from the booth, back toward the slideway. The
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: young man took a step toward him, stumbled on his
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  Speaker 1: own traveling kid, and staggered across the floor for a
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: half a dozen steps before regaining his balance. Leo turned
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  Speaker 1: and saw that the youth's face bore a somewhat ridiculous
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  Speaker 1: expression of mixed indecision and curiosity. Can I help you,
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: Leo asked, stopping at the edge of the moving slideway.
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  Speaker 1: How how did you do that, sir? Do what get
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: that girl to agree? To visit the university. I've been
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: talking to her for half an hour, and well she
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: wouldn't even look straight at me. Leo broke into a chuckle. Well,
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  Speaker 1: young man, to begin with, you were much too flustered.
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: It made you appear over anxious. On the other hand,
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: I am at an age where I can be strictly platonic.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: She was on guard against you, but she knows she
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: has very little to fear from me. I see, I
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: think well, Leo said, gesturing towards the slideway. I suppose
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: this is where we go separate ways. Oh no, sir,
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: I'm going with you. That is I mean you are
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: doctor Leo, aren't you? Yes? I am, and you must be.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: Leo hesitated. Can this be a Star Watch officer, he wondered.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: The youth stiffened to attention, and for an absurd flash
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: of a second, Leo thought he was going to salute.
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: I am Junior Lieutenant Hector, Sir, on special detached duty
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: from the cruiser s W four J one eighty eight,
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: home base Perseus Alpha six. I see, Leo replied. H
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: Is Hector your first name or your last? Both? Sir,
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: I should have guessed, Leo told himself aloud. He said, well, Lieutenant,
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: we better get to the shuttle before it leaves without us.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: They took the slideway. Half a second later, Hector jumped
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: off and dashed back to the communications desk for his
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: traveling kit. He hurried back to Leo, bumping into seven
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: bewildered citizens of various descriptions and nearly breaking both legs
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: when he tripped as he ran back onto the moving slideway.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: He went down on his face, sprawled across two lanes
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: moving at different speeds, and needed the assistance of several
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: persons before he was again on his feet and standing
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: beside Leo. I I'm sorry to cause all that commotion, sir,
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: that's all right. You weren't hurt, were you? Uh No,
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: I don't think so. Just embarrassed, Leo said nothing. They
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: rode the slideway in silence, through the busy station and
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: out to the enclosed berths where the planetary shuttles were docked.
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: They boarded one of the ships and found a pair
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  Speaker 1: of seats. Just how long have you been with star Watch, Lieutenant?
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  Speaker 1: Six weeks, sir, three weeks aboard a starship bringing me
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: out to Perseus Alpha six a week at the planetary
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: base there and two weeks aboard the cruiser s W
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  Speaker 1: four J one eight eight. That is, it's been sick
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: this week since I received my commission. I've been at
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: the Academy, the Star Watch Academy on Mars for four years.
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: You got through the academy in four years. That's the
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: regulation time, sir. Yeah, I know. The ship eased out
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: of its berth. There was a moment of free fall,
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: then the drive engines came on and the grab field equilibrated.
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: Tell me, Lieutenant, how did you get picked for this assignment?
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: I wish I knew, sir, Hector said, his lean face
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: twisting into a puzzled, frowned I was working out a
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: program for the navigation officer board the cruiser. I'm pretty
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: good at that. I can work out computer programs in
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: my head. Mostly. The mathematics was my best subject at
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: the academy. Interesting, yes, well, anyway, I was working out
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: this program when the Captain himself came on deck and
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: started shaking my hand, telling me that I was being
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: sent on special duty Onquitania by direct orders of the
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: Commander in chief. He seemed very happy. The captain, that
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: is he was no doubt pleased to see you get
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: such an unusual assignment, Leo said, tactfully. I'm not sure,
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  Speaker 1: Hector said truthfully, I think he regarded me as some
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: sort of a problem. Sir. He had me on a
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: different duty berth practically every day I was on board
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  Speaker 1: this ship. Well, now Leo changed the subject. What do
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: you know about psychonics? About what, sir? A electro incephilography?
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: Hector looked blank. Psychology, perhaps, Leo suggested, hopefully physiology, computer electronics. Uh,
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  Speaker 1: pretty good at mathematics, Yes, I know. Did you, by
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  Speaker 1: any chance receive any training in diplomatic affairs at the
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  Speaker 1: star Watch Academy? No, sir, Leo ran a hand through
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  Speaker 1: his thinning hair. Then why did the star Watch select
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  Speaker 1: you for this job? I must confess, Lieutenant, that I
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: can't understand the workings of a military organization. Hector shook
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: his head ruefully. Neither do I, sir. Chapter seven. The
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: next week was an enervatingly slow one for Leo, evenly
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: divided between tedious checking of each component of the dueling
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  Speaker 1: machine and shameless rouses to keep Hector as far away
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: from the machine as possible. The star watch Man certainly
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: wanted to help, and he actually was little short of
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  Speaker 1: brilliant in doing intricate mathematics completely in his head. But
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: he was Leo found a clumsy, chattering, whistling, scatter brained,
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  Speaker 1: inexperienced bundle of noise and nerves. It was impossible to
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  Speaker 1: do constructive work with him nearby. Perhaps you're judging him
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: too hardly, Leo warned himself. You just might be letting
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: your frustrations with the dueling machine get the better of
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: your sense of balance. The Professor was sitting in the
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: office that the Aquitanians had given him in one end
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: of the former lecture hall that held the dueling machine.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: Leo could see its impassive metal hulk through the open
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: office door. The room he was sitting in had been
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: one of a suite of offices used by the permanent
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: staff of the machine, but they had moved out of
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: the building completely in deference to Leo, and the Aquitanian
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: government had turned the other cuppy hall offices into sleeping
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  Speaker 1: rooms for the professor and the star watch man, and
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: an auto kitchen. The combination cook valet handyman appeared twice
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: each day, morning and evening to handle any special chores
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: that the cleaning machines and auto kitchen might miss. Leo
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: slouched back in his desk chair and cast a weary
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: eye on the snack of papers that recorded the latest
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: performances of the machine. Earlier that day, he had taken
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: the electro and cephalographic records of clinical cases of catatonia
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: and run them through the machine's input unit. The machine
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: immediately rejected them, refused to process them through the amplification
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: units and association circuits. In other words, the machine had
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: recognized the E E G traces as something harmful to
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: a human being. Then how did it happen to dow Lac,
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: Leo asked himself for the thousandth time. It couldn't have
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: been the machine's fault. It must have been something in
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: Odoll's mind that simply overpowered du Lax. Overpowered. That's a
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: terribly unscientific term, Leo argued against himself. Before he could
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: carry the debate any further, he heard the main door
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: of the big chamber slide open and then banged shut,
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: and Hector's off key whistle shrilled and echoed through the
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: high vaulted room. Leo sighed and put his self contained
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: argument off to the back of his mind, trying to
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: think logically near Hector was a hopeless prospect. Are you in, doctor,
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: Hector's voice rang out in here. Hector ducked in through
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: the doorway and plopped his rangy frame on the office's couch.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: Everything going well, Sir Leo shrugged, Not very well. I'm
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: afraid I can't find anything wrong with the dueling machine.
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: I can't even force it to malfunction. Well that's good,
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: isn't it? Hector chirped happily. In a sense, Leo admitted,
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: feeling slightly nettled at the youth's boundless, pointless optimism. But
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: you see, it means that Kanus's people can do things
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: with the machine that I can't. Hector frowned, considering the problem. HM. Yes,
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: I guess that's right too, isn't it. Did you see
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: the girl back to her ship safely? Leo asked, Yes, Sir,
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: Hector replied, bobbing his head vigor. She's on her way
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: back to the communications booth at the space station. She
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: said to tell you she enjoyed her visit very much. Good.
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: It was very good of you to escort her about
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  Speaker 1: the campus. It kept her out of my hair, what's
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: left of it, that is? Hector grinned. Oh I liked
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: showing her around at all that, and well it sort
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: of kept me out of your hair, too, didn't it.
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: Leo's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Hector laughed. Doctor, I
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: may be clumsy, and I'm certainly no scientist, but I'm
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: not completely brainless. I'm sorry if I gave you that impression.
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: Oh no, don't be sorry. It didn't mean that to
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: sound so well the way it sounded that is. I know,
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: I'm just in your way. He started to get up.
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: Leo waved him back to the couch. Relax, my boy, relaxed.
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: You know, I've been sitting here all afternoon wondering what
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: to do next. Somehow, just now I came to a conclusion. Yes,
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: I'm going to leave the Aquitane cluster and return to Karina.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: What but you can't? I mean, why not? I'm not
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: accomplishing anything here. Whatever it is that this Odall and
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: Caenis have been doing, it's basically a political problem and
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: not a scientific one. The professional staff of the machine
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: here will catch up to their tricks sooner or later.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: But sir, if you can't find the answer. How can they? Frankly,
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: I don't know. But as I said, this is a
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: political problem more than a scientific one. I'm tired and frustrated,
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: and I'm feeling my years. I want to return to
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: Karine and spend the next few months considering beautifully abstract
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: problems about instantaneous transportation devices. Let Massan and the star
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: Watch worry about canus. Oh that's what I came to
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: tell you. Massan has been challenged to a duel by Odall.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: What this afternoon, o'dall went to the council building, picked
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: an argument with Massan right in the main corridor, and
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: challenged him. Massan accepted, Leo asked. Hector nodded. Leo leaned
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: across his desk and reached for the phone unit. It
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: took a few minutes and a few levels of secretaries
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: and assistance, but finally Massan's dark bearded face appeared on
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: the screen above the desk. You have accepted Odal's challenge,
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: Leo asked, without preliminaries. We meet next week. Massan replied gravely.
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: You should have refused on what pretext? No pretext, A
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: flat refusal based on the certainty that Odal or some
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: one else from Karak is tampering with a dueling machine.
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: Massan shook his head sadly. My dear learn it, sir,
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: you still do not comprehend the political situation. The government
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: of the Aquitane cluster is much clo to dissolution than
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: I dare to admit openly. The coalition of star groups
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: that Dulac had constructed to keep the caract Worlds neutralized
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: has broken apart completely. This morning, Caanus announced that he
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: would annex Zarno this afternoon. O'dall challenges me, I think
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: I see. Of course, the Aquitanian government is paralyzed now
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: until the outcome of the duel is known. We cannot
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: effectively intervene in the Zarno crisis until we know who
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: will be heading the government next week. And frankly, more
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: than a few members of our council are now openly
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: favoring Canus and urging that we establish friendly relations with
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: him before it's too late. But that's all the more
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: reason for refusing the duel. LEO insisted, and be accused
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: of cowardice in my own council meetings, Massan smiled grimly.
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: In politics, my dear sir, the appearance of a man
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: means much more than his substance as a coward, I
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: would soon be out of office. But perhaps as the
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: winner of a duel against the invincible Odal, or even
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: as a martyr, I may accomplish something useful. Leo said nothing.
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: Massan continued, I put off the duel for a week,
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: hoping that in that time you might discover Odall's secret.
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: I dare not postpone the duel any longer, As it is,
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: the political situation may collapse about our heads at any moment.
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: I'll take this machine apart and rebuild it again, molecule
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: by molecule, Leo promised. As Massan's image faded from the screen.
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: Leo turned to Hector. We have one week to save
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: his life and avert a war. Maybe, Hector added, yes.
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: Leo leaned back in his chair and stared off into infinity.
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: Hector shuffled his feet, rubbed his nose, whistled a few
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: bars of off key tunes, and finally blurted, how can
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: you take apart the dueling machine? Hmmm? Leo snapped out
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: of his reverie. How can you take apart the dueling machine? Hector? Repeat,
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: It looks like a big job to do in a week. Yes,
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: it is, But my boy, perhaps we the two of us,
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: can do it. Hector scratched his head. Well, uh, sir,
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: I'm not very that is my mechanical aptitude scores at
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: the academy. Leo smiled at him. No need for mechanical aptitude,
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: My boy, you were trained to fight, weren't you. We
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: can do the job mentally. Chapter eight. It was the
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: strangest week of their lives. Leo's plan was straightforward, to
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: test the dueling machine, push it to the limits of
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: its performance by actually operating it by fighting duols. They
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: started off easily enough, tentatively probing and flexing their mental muscles.
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: Leo had used the dueling machine himself many times in
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: the past, but only in tests of the machines routine performance,
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: never in actual combat against another human being. To Hector,
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: of course, the machine was a totally new and different experience.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: The Aquitanian staff plunged into the project without question, providing
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: Leo with invaluable help in monitoring and analyzing the duels.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: At first, Leo and Hector did nothing more than play
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: hide and seek, with one of them picking an environment
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: and the other trying to find his opponent in it.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: They wandered through jungles and cities, over glaciers and interplanetary voids,
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: seeking each other, without ever leaving the booths of the
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: dueling Machine. Then, when Leo was satisfied that the machine
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: could reproduce and amplify thought patterns with strict fidelity, they
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: began to fight light duels. They fenced with blunted foils,
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: Hector i, of course, because of his much faster reflexes.
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: Then they tried other weapons pistols, sonic beams, grenades, but
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: always wearing protective equipment. Strangely, even though Hector was trained
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: in the use of these weapons, Leo won almost all
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: the bouts. He was neither faster nor more accurate when
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: they were target shooting, but when the two of them
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: faced each other somehow, Leo almost always won. The machine
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: projects more than thoughts. Leo told himself it projects personality.
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: They worked in the Dueling Machine day at night, now
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: enclosed in the booths for twelve or more hours a day,
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: driving themselves and the machine's regular staff to nearer exhaustion.
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: When they gulped their meals between duels, they were physically
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: ragged and sharp tempered. They usually fell asleep in Leo's
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: office while discussing the results of the day's work. The
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: duels grew slowly more serious. Leo was pushing the machine
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: to its limits, now carefully extending the rigors of each bout.
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: And yet even though he knew exactly what and how
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: much he intended to do in each fight, it often
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: took a conscious effort of will to remind himself that
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: the battles he was fighting were actually imaginary. As the
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: duels became more dangerous and the artificially amplified hallucinations began
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: to end in blood and death, Leo found himself winning
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: more and more frequently. With one part of his mind
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: he was driving to analyze the cause of his consistent success,
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: but another part of him was beginning to really enjoy
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: his prowess. The strain was telling on Hector the physical
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: exertion of constant work, and practically no relief was considerable
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: in itself, but the emotional effects of being hurt and
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: killed repeatedly were infinitely worse. Perhaps we should stop for
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: a while, Leo suggested. After the fourth day of tests. No,
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: I'm all right, Leo looked at him Hector's face was haggard,
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: his eyes bleary. You've had enough, Leo said quietly. Please
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: don't make me stop, Hector begged. I I can't stop now.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: Please give me a chance to do better. I'm improving.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: I lasted twice as long in this afternoon's two duels
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: as I did in the ones this morning. Please don't
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: end it now, not while I'm completely lost. Leo stared
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: at him. You want to go on, yes, sir, And
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: if I say no? Hector hesitated. Leo sensed he was
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: struggling with himself. If you say no, he answered, dully,
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: then it will be no. I can't argue against you
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: any more. Leo was silent for a long moment. Finally,
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: he opened a desk drawer and took a small bottle
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: from it. Here, take a sleep capsule. When you wake up,
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: we'll try again. It was dawn when they began again.
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: Leo entered the tooling machine. Determined to allow Hector to win.
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: He gave the youthful star watch Man his choice of
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: weapon and an environment. Hector picked one Man's scout ships
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: in planetary orbits. Their weapons were conventional force beams, but
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: despite his own conscious desire Leo found himself winning. The
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: ship spiraled about an unnamed planet, their paths intersecting at
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: least once in every orbit. The problem was to estimate
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: your opponent's orbital position, and then program your ship so
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: that you arrived at that position either behind or to
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: one side of him. Then you could train your guns
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: on him before he could turn on you. The problem
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: should have been an easy one for Hector, with his
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: knack for intuitive mental calculation, but Leo scored the first hit.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: Hector had piloted his ship into an excellent firing position,
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: but his shot went wide. Leo maneuvered around clumsily, but
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: managed to register an inconsequential hit on the side of
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: Hector's ship. In the next three passes, Leo scored two
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: more hits. Hector's ship was badly damaged. Now in return,
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: the the star watch Man had landed one glancing shot
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: on Leo's ship. They came around again, and once more
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: Leo had outguessed his younger opponent. He trained his guns
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: on Hector's ship, then hesitated with his hand poised above
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: the firing button. Don't kill him again, he warned himself.
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: His mind can't accept another defeat. But Leo's hand, almost
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: of its own will, reached the button and touched it lightly.
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: Another gram of pressure and the guns would fire. In
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: that instant's hesitation. Hector pulled his crippled ship around and
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: aimed at Leo. The watchman fired a searing blast that
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: jarred Leo's ship from end to end. Leo's hand slammed
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: down on the firing button. Whether he intended to do
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: it or not, he did not know. Leo's shot raked
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: Hector's ship, but did not stop it. The two vehicles
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: were hurtling directly at each other. Leo tried desperately to
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: avert a collision, but Hector bored in grimly, matching Leo's
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: maneuvers with his own. The two ships smashed together and
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: exploded abruptly. Leo found himself in the cramped booth of
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: his dueling machine, his body cold and damp with perspiration,
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: his hands trembling. He squeezed out of the booth and
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: took a deep breath. Warm sunlight was streaming into the
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: high vaulted room. The white walls glared brilliantly through the
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: tall windows. He could see trees and people and clouds
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: in the sky. Hector walked up to him for the
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: first time in several days. The watchman was smiling, not much,
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: but smiling. Well, we broke even on that one. Leo
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: smiled back, somewhat shakily. Yes, it was quite an experience.
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: I've never died before. Hector fidgeted. It's not so bad.
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: I guess it does sort of well shatter you, you know, Yes,
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: I can see that now. Another duel, Hector asked, nodding
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: his head toward the machine. Let's get out of this
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: place for a few hours. Are you hungry? Starved? They
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: fought seven more duels over the next day and a half.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: Hector won three of them. It was late afternoon when
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: Leo called a halt to the tests. We can still
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: get in another one or two, the watchman pointed out,
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: no need, Leo said, I have all the data I require.
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: Tomorrow Massan meets Odal. Unless we can put a stop
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: to it, we have much to do before tomorrow morning.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: Hector sagged into the couch. Just as well. I think
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: I've aged seven years in the past seven days. No,
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: my boy, Leo said, gently, you haven't aged, you've matured.
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: Chapter nine. It was deep twilight when the ground car
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: slid to a halt on its cushions of compressed air
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: before the Karak embassy. I still think it's a mistake
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: to go in there, Hector said. I mean you could
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: have called him on the try die just as well,
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: couldn't you. Leo shook his head. Never give an agency
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: of any government the opportunity to say, hold the line
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: a moment and then huddle together to consider what to
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: do with you. Nineteen times out of twenty, they'll end
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: by passing your request up to the next higher echelon,
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: and you'll be left waiting for weeks. Still, Hector insisted,
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: you're simply stepping into enemy territory. It's a chance you
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: shouldn't take. They wouldn't dare touch us. Hector did not reply,
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: but he looked unconvinced. Look Leo said, there are only
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: two men alive who can shed light on this matter.
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: One of them is Dulac, and his mind is close
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: to us for an indefinite time. Odall is the only
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: other one who knows what happened. Hector shook his head skeptically.
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: Leo shrugged and opened the door of the ground car.
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: Hector had no choice but to get out and follow
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: him as he walked up the pathway to the main
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: entrance of the embassy. The building stood gaunt and gray
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: in the dusk, surrounded by a precisely clipped hedge. The
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: entrance was flanked by a pair of tall evergreen trees.
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: Leo and Hector were met just inside the entrance by
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: a female receptionist. She looked just a trifle disheveled, as
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: though she had been rushed to the desk at a
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: moment's notice. They asked for odall, were ushered into a
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: sitting room, and within a few minutes, to Hector's surprise,
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: were informed by the girl that Major o'dall would be
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: with them shortly. You see, Leo pointed out jovially, when
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: you come in person, they haven't as much of a
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: chance to consider how to get rid of you. Hector
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: glanced around the windowless room and contemplated the thick, solidly
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: closed door. There's a lot of scarrying going on on
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: the other side of that door, I'll bet I mean
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: they may be considering how to uh get rid of
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: us permanently. Leo shook his head, smiling wryly. Undoubtedly the
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: approach closed to their hearts but highly improbable. In the
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: present situation, they have been making most efficient and effective
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: use of the dueling machine to gain their ends. O'dall
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: picked this moment to open the door, Doctor Leo, Lieutenant Hector,
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: you asked to see me. Thank you, Major o'dall. I
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: hope you will be able to help me, Leo said,
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: you are the only man living who may be able
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: to give us some clues to the failure of the
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: dueling machine. O'dall's answering smile reminded Leo of the best
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: efforts of the robot puppet designers to make a machine
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: that smiled like a man. I am afraid I can
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: be of no assistance, Doctor Leo. My experiences in the
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: machine are private. Perhaps you don't fully understand the situation,
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: Leo said. In the past week, we have tested the
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: dueling machine here on Aquitania exhaustively. We have learned that
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: its performance can be greatly influenced by a man's personality
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: and by try. You have fought many duels in the machines.
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: Your background of experience, both as a professional soldier and
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: in the machines, gives you a decided advantage over your opponents. However,
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: even with all this considered, I am convinced that you
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: cannot kill a man in the machine under normal circumstances.
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: We have demonstrated that fact in our tests. An unsabotaged
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: machine cannot cause actual physical harm. Yet you have already
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: killed one man and incapacitated another. Where will it stop?
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: O Doll's face remained calm, except for the faintest glitter
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: of fire deep in his eyes. His voice was quiet,
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: but had the edge of a well honed blade to it.
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: I cannot be blamed for my background and experience, and
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: I have not tampered with your machines. The door to
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: the room opened and a short, thickset, bullet headed man entered.
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: He was dressed in a dark street suit so that
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: it was impossible to guess his station at the embassy.
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: Would the gentlemen care for refreshments, he asked in a
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: low pitched voice. No, thank you, Leo said, some karak wine. Perhaps, Well,
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: I don't uh think we better, sir, Hector said that
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: thanks all the same. The man shrugged and sat at
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: the chair next to the door. Odall turned back to Leo, Sir,
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: I have my duty, Massan, and I duel tomorrow. There
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: is no possibility of postponing it. Very well, Leo said,
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: will you at least allow us to place some special
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: instrumentation into the booth with you so that we can
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: monitor the duel more fully. We can do the same
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: with Massan. I know the duels are normally private, and
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: you would be within your legal rights to refuse the request.
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: But morally, the smile returned to Odall's face. You wish
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: to monitor my thoughts, to record them and see how
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: I perform during the due Interesting? Very interesting. The man
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: at the door rose and said, if you have no
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: desire for refreshments, gentlemen, Odall turned to him, thank you
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: for your attention. Their eyes met and locked for an instant.
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: The man gave a barely perceptible shake of his head,
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: then left. Odall returned his attention to Leo. I am sorry, professor,
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: but I cannot allow you to monitor my thoughts during
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: the duel. But I regret having to refuse you, but
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: as you yourself pointed out, there is no legal requirement
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: for such a course of action, I must refuse. I
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: hope you understand. Leo rose from the couch and Hector
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: popped up beside him. I am afraid I do understand,
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: and I too regret your decision. Odall escorted them out
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: to their car. They drove away, and the Karak major
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: walked slowly back into the embassy building. He was met
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: in the hallway by the dark suited man who had
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: sat in on the conversation. I could have let them
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: monitor my thoughts and still crush Massan, Odall said, it
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: would have been a good joke on them. The man grunted,
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: I have just spoken to the Chancellor on try Die
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: and obtained permission to make a slight adjustment in our plans.
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: An adjustment, Minister Corps. After your duel tomorrow, your next
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: opponent will be the eminent doctor Leo Corps said. Chapter ten.
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: The mists swirled deep and impenetrable about ferned Massan. He
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: stared blindly through the useless viewplate in his helmet, then
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: reached up slowly and carefully to place the infrared detector
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: before his eyes. I never realized a hallucination could seem
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: so real, Massan thought. Since the challenge by Odall, he
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: realized the actual world had seemed quite unreal. For a week.
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: He had gone through the motions of life, but felt
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: as though he were standing aside a spectator mind watching
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: its own body from a distance. The gathering of his
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: friends and associates last night, the night before the duel,
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: that silent funeral group of people, it had seemed completely
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: unreal to him. But now, in this manufactured dream, he
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: seemed vibrantly alive. Every sensation was solid, stimulating. He could
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: feel his pulse throbbing through him. Somewhere out in those
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: mists he knew was odal, and the thought of coming
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: to grips with the assassin filled him with a strange satisfaction.
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: Massan had spent a good many years serving his government
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: on the rich but inhospitable, high gravity planets of the
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: Aquitane Cluster. This was the environment he had chosen. Crushing gravity,
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: killing pressures. Atmosphere of ammonia and hydrogen, laced with free
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: radicals of sulfur and other valuable but deadly chemicals. Oceans
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: of liquid methane and ammonia. Solid ground consisting of quickly crumbling,
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: eroding ice, howling super powerful winds that could pick up
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: a mountain of ice and hurl it halfway around the planet. Darkness, danger, death.
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: He was encased in a one man protective outfit that
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: was half armored suit, half vehicle. There was an internal
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: grab field to keep him comfortable in three point seven
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: g's but still the suit was cumbersome and a man
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: could move only very slowly in it, even with the
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: aid of servo motors. The weapon he had chosen was
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: simplicity itself, a hand sized capsule of oxygen. But in
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: a hydrogen ammonia atmosphere, oxygen could be a deadly explosive.
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: Massan carried several of these bombs, so did o'dall. But
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: the trick Massan thought to himself is to know how
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: to throw them under these conditions. The proper range, the
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: proper trajectory not an easy thing to learn without years
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: of experience. The terms of the duel were simple. Massan
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: and o'dall were situated on a rough topped iceberg that
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: was being swirled along one of the methane ammonia ocean's
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: vicious currents. The ice was rapidly crumbling. The duel would
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: end when the iceberg was completely broken up. Massan edged
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: along the ragged terrain, his suits, grippers and rollers automatically
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: adjusted to the roughness of the topography. He concentrated his
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: attention on the infrared detector that hung before his viewplate.
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: A chunk of ice the size of a man's head
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: sailed through the murky atmosphere in a steep glide peculiar
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: to heavy gravity, and banged into the shoulder of Massan's suit.
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: The force was enough to rock him slightly off balance
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: before the servos readjusted. Massan withdrew his arm from the
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: sleeve and felt the inside of the shoulder scene dented
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: but not penetrated. A leak would have been disastrous, possibly fatal.
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: Then he remembered, of course, I cannot be killed except
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: by direct action of my antagonist. That is one of
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: the rules of the game. Still, he carefully fingered the
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: dented shoulder to make certain it was not leaking. The
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: dueling machine and its rules seemed so very remote and
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: unsubstantial compared to this freezing, howling inferno. He diligently set
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: about combing the iceberg, determined to find o'dall and kill
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: him before their floating island disintegrated. He thoroughly explored every projection,
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: every crevice, every slope, working his way slowly from one
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: end of the berg toward the other. Back and forth,
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: cross and recross. With the infrared sensors scanning three hundred
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: sixty degrees around him, it was time consuming. Even with
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: the sout's servo motors and propulsion units. Motion across the
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: ice against the buffering wind was a cumbersome business, but
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: Massan continued to work his way across the iceberg, fighting
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: down a gnawing growing fear that o'dall was not there
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: at all. And then he caught just the barest flicker
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: of a shadow on his detector something or someone had
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: darted behind, and a jutting rise of the ice off
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: by the edge of the iceberg. Slowly and carefully, Massan
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: made his way toward the base of the rise. He
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: picked one of the oxy bombs from his belt and
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: held it in his right hand claw. Massan edged around
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: the base of the ice cliff and stood on a
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: narrow ledge between the cliff and the churning sea. He
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: saw no one. He extended the detector's range to maximum
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: and worked the scanners up the sheer face of the
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: cliff toward the top. There he was the shadowy outline
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: of a man etched itself on the detector screen, and
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: at the same time Massan heard a muffled roar, then
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: a rumbling, crashing noise, growing quickly louder and more menacing.
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: He looked up the face of the ice cliff and
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: saw a small avalanche of ice tumbling, sliding, growling toward him.
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: That devil set off a bomb at the top of
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: the cliff. Massan tried to back out of the way,
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: but it was too late. The first chunk of ice
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: bounced harmlessly off his helmet, but the the others knocked
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: him off balance so repeatedly that the servos had no
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: chance to recover. He staggered blindly for a few moments
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: as more and more ice cascaded down on him, and
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: then toppled off the ledge into the boiling sea. Relax,
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: he ordered himself, Do not panic. The suit will float you.
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: The servos will keep you right side up. You cannot
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: be killed accidentally. O'dall must perform the coup de gras himself.
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: Then he remembered the emergency rocket units in the back
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: of the suit. If he could orient himself properly, a
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: touch of a control stud on his belt would set
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: them off and he would be boosted back onto the iceberg.
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: He turned slightly inside the suit and tried to judge
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: the iceberg's distance through the infrared detector. It was difficult,
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: especially since he was bobbing madly in the churning currents. Finally,
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: he decided to fire the rocket and make final adjustments
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: of distance and landing sight after he was safely out
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: of the sea. But he could did not move his hand.
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: He tried, but his entire right arm was locked fast.
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: He could not budget an inch, and the same for
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: the left. Something or someone was clamping his arms tight.
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: He could not even pull them out of their sleeves.
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: Massan thrashed about, trying to shake off whatever It was
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: no use. Then his detector screen was lifted slowly from
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: the viewplate. He felt something vibrating on his helmet, the
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: oxygen tubes. They were being disconnected. He screamed and tried
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: to fight free, no use. With a hiss, the oxygen
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: tubes pulled free of his helmet. Hassan could feel the
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: blood pounding through his veins as he fought desperately to
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: free himself. Now he was being pushed down into the sea.
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: He screamed again and tried to wrench his body away.
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: The frothing sea filled his viewplate. He was under, he
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: was being held under. And now now the viewplate itself
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: was being loosened. No, don't the scalding cold men ammonia
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: sea seeped in through the opening viewplate. It's only a dream,
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: Massan shouted to himself, Only a dream, a dream and
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: of Part two of The Dueling Machine by Ben Bova
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: and Myron R. Lewis